Alumnus gives Rs 1.3 cr to PU

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, November 4

“I am trying to return what I got from this educational institute,” said Jaswant Singh Gill, Panjab University (PU) alumnus and founder CEO of Sun Deep Cosmetics Inc, US, while announcing a donation of $2,00,000 (approximately Rs 1.3 crore) to the university for setting up a corpus fund to provide scholarship to the needy and meritorious students of the University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS).

Recalling his university days, Gill said he took admission to the university in 1964 on an assured scholarship basis, which used to be given to the topper of two years’ pharmacy diploma course from the Amritsar Medical College.

Jaswant Singh Gill said he got free education and scholarship at the PU and he was just trying to pay back. The university scholarship changed his life. Through this scholarship, he wants to help the needy and meritorious students to study pharmacy at the UIPS, PU.

The university authorities have decided that the scholarship and fellowship would be awarded to 13 UIPS students out of the annual interest accrued on the endowment of $2,00,000.

Gill discussed the modalities and the proposed guidelines, eligibility conditions for the proposed Jaswant Singh Gill Pharma Scholarship (JSGPS) with university officials. As per the discussions, the proposed endowment would be for the specific purpose of supporting the needy and meritorious students of the UIPS. Three students each of BPharm of the UIPS would get about Rs 4,000 per month as scholarship. One research scholar would get Rs 20,000 per month plus HRA as part of the proposed fellowship.

He also spoke to PU Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover through videoconferencing as the latter was away for some official purpose.

Meanwhile, Gill today addressed UIPS students on the topic “reminisces of my five-decade pharma sojourn from Chandigarh to California”. During his interactive talk, Gill narrated various dramatic phases of his career and shared the entrepreneurial wisdom gained through experience of three decades.